Monte Carlo design and experimental characterization of a moderator device to produce a thermal neutron source from a 241Am/9Be source

Lenin E. Cevallos-Robalino; Gonzalo F. García-Fernández; Alfredo Lorente; Eduardo Gallego; Sviatoslav Ibañez-Fernández; Hector Rene Vega-Carrillo; Karen A. Guzmán-Garcia

doi:10.1016/j.radphyschem.2019.108599

Monte Carlo design and experimental characterization of a moderator device to produce a thermal neutron source from a ²⁴¹Am/⁹Be source

Lenin E. Cevallos-Robalino, Gonzalo F. García-Fernández, Alfredo Lorente, Eduardo Gallego, Sviatoslav Ibañez-Fernández, Hector Rene Vega-Carrillo, Karen A. Guzmán-Garcia

Control Systems and Robotics Research Group (GISCOR)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

A moderator device to produce a uniform thermal neutron field has been designed by Monte Carlo methods using the MCNP6.1 code. It uses a ²⁴¹Am/⁹Be neutron source of 111 GBq activity and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) moderator. The main tasks developed were to evaluate the geometry of the moderator and to select the neutron source position, in order to optimize the thermal neutrons flux in the irradiation area, and to assess the dose rate. In the system, named FANT (Fuente Ampliada de Neutrones Térmicos), the neutron moderation and backscattering processes are effective to obtain quite uniform thermal fluence rates above 1000 cm⁻² s⁻¹ in a cylindrical irradiation chamber of 32 cm diameter and 34 cm length. The device has been built in the neutron measurements hall of the Energy Engineering Department of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), performing several measurements to characterize the neutron field and validate the calculations. FANT can be employed hereafter in different applications requiring a neutron field with a substantial thermal component, like testing and calibration of neutron detectors and neutron dosimeters, or the use NAA (Neutron Activation Analysis) methods for detection of trace substances or materials.

Original language	English
Article number	108599
Journal	Radiation Physics and Chemistry
Volume	168
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2019.108599
State	Published - Mar 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The co-author Lenin E. Cevallos-Robalino, thanks to Secretaría de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación of Ecuador (SENESCYT), for the scholarship to carry out postgraduate studies in Madrid, Spain. The co-author Gonzalo F. Garcia-Fernandez has developed this research work as part of Industrial Doctorate Program, IND2017/AMB-7797, funded by the Community of Madrid (CM), under the agreement between the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and the company Biología y Técnica de la Radiación, S.L. (Bioterra, S.L.).

Funding Information:
The co-author Gonzalo F. Garcia-Fernandez has developed this research work as part of Industrial Doctorate Program, IND2017/AMB-7797, funded by the Community of Madrid (CM) , under the agreement between the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and the company Biología y Técnica de la Radiación, S.L. (Bioterra, S.L.) .

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

Am /Be neutron source
Gold activation foils
MCNP6 code
Neutron moderator
Thermal neutrons
241Am /9Be neutron source

Access to Document

10.1016/j.radphyschem.2019.108599

Cite this

Cevallos-Robalino, L. E., García-Fernández, G. F., Lorente, A., Gallego, E., Ibañez-Fernández, S., Vega-Carrillo, H. R., & Guzmán-Garcia, K. A. (2020). Monte Carlo design and experimental characterization of a moderator device to produce a thermal neutron source from a ²⁴¹Am/⁹Be source. Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 168, Article 108599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2019.108599

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title = "Monte Carlo design and experimental characterization of a moderator device to produce a thermal neutron source from a 241Am/9Be source",

abstract = "A moderator device to produce a uniform thermal neutron field has been designed by Monte Carlo methods using the MCNP6.1 code. It uses a 241Am/9Be neutron source of 111 GBq activity and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) moderator. The main tasks developed were to evaluate the geometry of the moderator and to select the neutron source position, in order to optimize the thermal neutrons flux in the irradiation area, and to assess the dose rate. In the system, named FANT (Fuente Ampliada de Neutrones T{\'e}rmicos), the neutron moderation and backscattering processes are effective to obtain quite uniform thermal fluence rates above 1000 cm−2 s−1 in a cylindrical irradiation chamber of 32 cm diameter and 34 cm length. The device has been built in the neutron measurements hall of the Energy Engineering Department of Universidad Polit{\'e}cnica de Madrid (UPM), performing several measurements to characterize the neutron field and validate the calculations. FANT can be employed hereafter in different applications requiring a neutron field with a substantial thermal component, like testing and calibration of neutron detectors and neutron dosimeters, or the use NAA (Neutron Activation Analysis) methods for detection of trace substances or materials.",

keywords = "Am /Be neutron source, Gold activation foils, MCNP6 code, Neutron moderator, Thermal neutrons, 241Am /9Be neutron source",

author = "Cevallos-Robalino, {Lenin E.} and Garc{\'i}a-Fern{\'a}ndez, {Gonzalo F.} and Alfredo Lorente and Eduardo Gallego and Sviatoslav Iba{\~n}ez-Fern{\'a}ndez and Vega-Carrillo, {Hector Rene} and Guzm{\'a}n-Garcia, {Karen A.}",

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doi = "10.1016/j.radphyschem.2019.108599",

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Cevallos-Robalino, LE, García-Fernández, GF, Lorente, A, Gallego, E, Ibañez-Fernández, S, Vega-Carrillo, HR & Guzmán-Garcia, KA 2020, 'Monte Carlo design and experimental characterization of a moderator device to produce a thermal neutron source from a ²⁴¹Am/⁹Be source', Radiation Physics and Chemistry, vol. 168, 108599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2019.108599

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T1 - Monte Carlo design and experimental characterization of a moderator device to produce a thermal neutron source from a 241Am/9Be source

AU - Cevallos-Robalino, Lenin E.

AU - García-Fernández, Gonzalo F.

AU - Lorente, Alfredo

AU - Gallego, Eduardo

AU - Ibañez-Fernández, Sviatoslav

AU - Vega-Carrillo, Hector Rene

AU - Guzmán-Garcia, Karen A.

PY - 2020/3

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N2 - A moderator device to produce a uniform thermal neutron field has been designed by Monte Carlo methods using the MCNP6.1 code. It uses a 241Am/9Be neutron source of 111 GBq activity and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) moderator. The main tasks developed were to evaluate the geometry of the moderator and to select the neutron source position, in order to optimize the thermal neutrons flux in the irradiation area, and to assess the dose rate. In the system, named FANT (Fuente Ampliada de Neutrones Térmicos), the neutron moderation and backscattering processes are effective to obtain quite uniform thermal fluence rates above 1000 cm−2 s−1 in a cylindrical irradiation chamber of 32 cm diameter and 34 cm length. The device has been built in the neutron measurements hall of the Energy Engineering Department of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), performing several measurements to characterize the neutron field and validate the calculations. FANT can be employed hereafter in different applications requiring a neutron field with a substantial thermal component, like testing and calibration of neutron detectors and neutron dosimeters, or the use NAA (Neutron Activation Analysis) methods for detection of trace substances or materials.

AB - A moderator device to produce a uniform thermal neutron field has been designed by Monte Carlo methods using the MCNP6.1 code. It uses a 241Am/9Be neutron source of 111 GBq activity and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) moderator. The main tasks developed were to evaluate the geometry of the moderator and to select the neutron source position, in order to optimize the thermal neutrons flux in the irradiation area, and to assess the dose rate. In the system, named FANT (Fuente Ampliada de Neutrones Térmicos), the neutron moderation and backscattering processes are effective to obtain quite uniform thermal fluence rates above 1000 cm−2 s−1 in a cylindrical irradiation chamber of 32 cm diameter and 34 cm length. The device has been built in the neutron measurements hall of the Energy Engineering Department of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), performing several measurements to characterize the neutron field and validate the calculations. FANT can be employed hereafter in different applications requiring a neutron field with a substantial thermal component, like testing and calibration of neutron detectors and neutron dosimeters, or the use NAA (Neutron Activation Analysis) methods for detection of trace substances or materials.

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KW - 241Am /9Be neutron source

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